jg The Ottawa Naturalist. [April 



perianth, on the other hand,- is found whether fertilization has 

 taken place or not. So far as observed, innovations are 

 never produced where fertilization has occurred. The leaves 

 of M. Sahlhergii exhibit considerable variation but the antical 

 lobe is almost invariably sharper and a little smaller than the 

 postical ; in the perichaetial bracts, however, this difference 

 tends to disappear. 

 9. LOPHOZIA Rutheana, (Limpr.) M. A. Howe, Bull. New York 

 Bot. Garden, 26; 102. 1901. {Plate II.) 



Bonanza Creek (14), also collected by Williams at the 

 same locality; Hunker Creek (46). These are the only known 

 American stations, but the range of the species extends 

 through northern Europe into Siberia. 



Two very full descriptions of L. Rutheana have already 

 been pubHshed, the first being Limpricht's original descrip- 

 tion, ^ the second Lindberg's description of W\s Jungennannia 

 lophocoleoides,'^ which is now acknowledged to be a synonym 

 of L. Rutheana. At the same time the species resembles 

 Mesoptychia Sahlbergii so closely, especially when sterile, 

 that it may be well to emphasize the more important differ- 

 ential characters. Of course fruiting specimens are very dis- 

 tinct, and, even in the case of sexual individuals where fer- 

 tilization has not taken place, the paroicous inflorescence of 

 L. Rutheana and the dioicous inflorescence of the Mesoptychia 

 may usually be demonstrated without much trouble. 



The two species are of about the same size and they 

 resemble each other in color. Both species, moreover, have 

 bifid leaves and conspicuous underleaves and both show dis- 

 tinct trigones in their leaf-cells and a strongly verruculose 

 cuticle. In L. Rulheatia, however, the leaves are not folded 

 and are sometimes gibbous at the bottom of the sinus. The 

 apices of the lobes are very variable, being sometimes 

 rounded, sometimes obtuse and sometimes acute, but they 

 are rarely or never distinctly apiculate. If there is any in- 

 equality in the size ot the lobes or any difference in their 



1 Jahresb. Schles. Gesell. vaterl. Cultur, 61 : 207. 1884. 



2 Lindb. 6c Arnell, Kongl. Sv. Vet. Akad. Handl. 23^ : 41. 1887. 



